1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a protection device for endoscopes and a corresponding endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
An endoscope is an instrument used in medicine that includes an optical system for examining the internal surface of a hollow organ, a natural cavity or a conduit of the body for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Such instruments include an invasive part called the endoscope stem, that penetrates into the body of the patient, and associated means for seeing inside the body of the patient, such as an eyepiece, for example. A light source for illuminating the surface to be observed is generally also associated with the endoscope.
A rigid endoscope, with which the present document is concerned, has a rigid invasive part, as opposed to flexible endoscopes which are sometimes also referred to as fiberscopes. The invasive part of a rigid endoscope usually has a circular cylindrical shape with a diameter of 8 mm, for example. It includes a cylindrical tubular metal envelope containing on the one hand optical lenses for observing via an eyepiece or the like the internal surface of the body to be examined and on the other hand optical fibers for conducting light from an external light source to illuminate the surface to be examined.
The endoscope can be associated with an image capture device, such as a video camera, for example. The resulting instrument is known as a video endoscope.
To avoid any contamination, it is known to sterilize endoscopes before each use. This sterilization is effected in an autoclave. Sterilization of an endoscope takes a long time and the severe conditions under which sterilization is effected damage the endoscope in the long term.
The patent EP-0 456 761 proposes a sterile sheath associated with an accordion-fold sleeve to cover a video endoscope and thereby to avoid having to sterilize it. The sheath protects the invasive part of the endoscope and the sleeve is intended to cover the exterior part of the video endoscope. The use of such sheaths and such sleeves solves the problems associated with sterilizing an endoscope. However the sheath covering the invasive part of the endoscope increases the total diameter of the assembly to be introduced into the body of the patient.